Electronic translating device



H. ZIEBOLZ ELCTRONIC TRANSLATING DEVICE Filed Dec. 22, 1941 ELECTRONIC 'E1' f shame non v Herbert Ziebolz, Chicago, lill., assigner, by mesne assignments, to Electronbeam, Ltd.,v Chicago, Ill., a partnership, of Illinois Application December 22, 1941, Serial No. 424,059 A f somma.

The invention relates to an electronic translating device of the cathode-ray tube type for relaying, amplifying, converting, transforming or otherwise translating electrical, magnetic or electromagnetic signals, or signals of anynature which may be converted by known means into electric. magnetic or electromagnetic signals.

The invention is useful in translating signals representing physical, chemical or'other conditions, such as chemical reactions, heat, sound, light, mechanical motion or displacement which may be converted by such means as thermocouples, microphones. light sensitive cells, mechanical movements or displacements of magnets, charged bodies, electromagnets, coils or cores of electromagnets.

One object of the invention is 'to provide means for performing these translating functions with a minimum of distortion due to any change in the characteristics of the means or of the electronic device. Y

Another object of the invention is to provide` i Another object is to provide an electronic device oi this character which can be employed asa direct current amplifier.

The'lnvention disclosed herein is related to the ond deilecting'means is energizedin accordance with variations in the number of electrons act'- ing upon 4the electron receiving means or anode,

f effect which is to be relayed, amplied or transf eect acting on invention disclosed in copending application Ser.

No. 417,871, illed November 4, 1941 (Patent No. 2,314,302), and the arrangements described in lthe present application are modifications of thel invention disclosed in therearlier application. In the earlier application Ser. No. 417,871, the

1 electron stream-or beam of a cathode-ray tube is deflected by suitable deilecting means to vary the number of electrons intercepted by electron receiving means or an anode, the deflecting means being energized in accordance with signals vto be translated. A second deilecting means is provided to act upon the electron stream 'in opposition to the rst denecting means, and the secindicate the amount of unbalance Fig. 3 is a. diagram illustrating the invention the arrangement being such that the .stream is deflected to establish a state of equilibrium be*- between the two deilecting means.,

In all of the arrangements dlsclosedlin the prior application the variation in the number of electrons received by the receiving means or anode establishes a variable potential in the anode circuit and this variable potential is utilized to energize the second deilecting means which acts 'in opposition to the first deilecting means.

In the arrangements disclosed herein, only one deflecting means is employed, andthe variable lated controls the deectlng means to produce potential variations in theanode or output circuit, and a variable potential derived from the output circuit reduce the resultant deflectin'g action to a minimum.' The action is such that for any given value of the applied deilecting effect, the electronbeam will be deflected byan amount'suiil-` cient to establish an' opposing eilect which substantially balances the applied deflecting eilect.

The present invention may be utilized in connection with a Wheatstone bridge to maintain tbe bridge in balance automatically and to provide a continuousindication of the amount of unbalance. The invention may also be employed as an instrument to measure and indicate mechanical forces, or as an instrument to measure and indicate the extent and direction of movement of an object.

Other aims and advantages will appear in the specification, when considered in connection with the accompanying draw-vl ing,- wherein: y

Fig. 1 is a circuit diagram showing one form of translating device according to the invention;

Fig. 2 is a circuit 'diagram showing another n form of the invention applied to a yWheatstone bridge to maintain the bridge in balance and and applied to a force measuringand indicating arrangement.

In the arrangement shown in Fig. l, there is diagrammatically represented a cathode-ray tube consisting of an insulating envelope 2li. The internal construction oi' the cathode-ray tube may be of any suitable and well known type;y but for the purpose of illustration, the tube has ,a source is utilized' to oppose the variablev the deilecting means to thereby of the invention may be omitted and the load connected the remaining plate and ground.

of electrons represented by a heater or illament 2| for heating an electron emitting cathode 22. The electrons emitted by cathode 22 are accelerated and focused into an electron beam of suitable shape directed along the axis of the tube by means of an accelerating and concentrating electrode 2l mounted in the tube and maintained at positive potential with respect to the cathode 22 by means of a suitable source of potential, represented by the battery 24. The electron beam established within the tube is indicated by dotted lines 2l.

Suitable electron receiving means, represented by the anode plates 2l and 21, are positioned within the tube to receive electrons from the beam 25. While two anode plates have been shown, it will be understood that only one plate may be employed if desired. The anodes and 21 are connected through suitable coupling resistances 28 and 22 to a source of positive 'potential, represented by the battery Il, the negative terminal of which is connected to the positive terminal of battery 24. In some instances, the battery 2l may be omitted. Moreover, it is not essential that resistances l24 and 2O be conl.nected to the battery 24, but they may be connected to ground. A load circuit or any other device :l utilizing load current 'is connected t across the leads to plates 20 and -21. An ampliiler Il may be included ii' desired.

The electron beam 2l may be initially concentrated or focused on either plate 2l or 21 or it may be focused vto impinge upon both plates to an equal extent. In this example, the beam is deilected relative to both platesby means o( a magnetic deiiectingl coil 32 which isenergized from a suitable source of current I2 which may be a source oi' signalling currents or the currents may be derived from any variation oi' a factor which is to be measured. If desired, an ampliiier Ila may be employed to amplify the current supplied to coil 22 from source l2. 'Ihe coil 32 establishes a magnetic neld transverselyoi the beam 25, whereby the beam is deflected in a direction depending upon the direction of the ileld established by the coil 32. Instead oi' usinga coil for deilecting the beam, deilecting plates may be used if desired, see Fig. 2.

Deflection oi the beam 2l in accordance with signals from the source I! causes corresponding variations in the number of electrons impinging upon plates 2l and 21,' therebyeausing plates 2l and 21 to vary in potential in response to the signals from source Il. Where two plates are employed and the beam is initially positioned midway between the plates, the potential varia-v tions on plate 2l are Vopposite tothe variations on plate 21, and the ditl'erence in potential between the plates supplies the load Il with current which varies in accordance with the signals supplied from source 8l. It will be understood that the load may be connected from either plate 2l or plate 21 to ground, or one oi the plates A between A potentiometer 3l is connected to the load circuit for deriving from this circuit a potential to oppose the current supplied to the detlecting coil from thersoui'ce 32. Vll'or thispurpose, the

output connection from potentiometer 3l 'is connecd in shunt to a resistance 32h connected in series with the circuit which supplies current to the coil l2 from source ll. It will be understood that resistance 23h is not essential, and the currents from source 22 may be supplied t0 coil l? 1 through the connection to potentiometer Il. The connections from potentiometer Il are such that the voltage or current supplied to the circuit o! coil I2 is in opposition to the voltage or current supplied from source I2.

The operation o! the arrangementv shown in 'Fig. 1 is believed to be clear from the foregoing description. It is assumed that the ileld established byl coil 82 tends to deect the beam from mid-position toward the plate 2l and a potential diiierence is established between plates 2i and 21. The potential supplied'from potentiometer to the' circuit oi' coil 22 opposes the current from source and limits the amount oi dethis condition, the potential dinerence existingl between plates 2l and 21 will be directly proportional to the signal supplied from 'source ll. 'nie proportion or ratio between the input signal and the signal supplied to the load may be adjusted or coitrolled by adjustment of the potentiometer I a A substantially linear relationship may be obtained between the output signal and the input signal by arranging the circuit constants so-that the maximumoutput signal is obtained by a rel jatively small unbalance between the voltage impressed i'rom source l2 and the voltage impressed from potentiometer 2l. For example, the amount of unbalance required between these two control voltagesio produce a maximum current or voltage in the load circuit may be o! the order of one percent diilerence. In other words, the applied deiiecting voltage or force should be greatly in excess o! that required to produce maximum energy in the output circuit.

The arrangement represented in Fig. 2 is a variation of the arrangement shown in Fig. 1. In this arrangement, the beam is deflected by a vpair of deflecting plates 36-31 instead of a coil, although a coil may be employed if desired. The variable eil'ect which controls the denection of the .beam is a potential derived from the null circuit -of a Wheatstone bridge formed by arms Rl|4R2-R2-R4, the bridge being energized from a suitable source represented by thebattery llc. 'I'he ampliner 33a may or may 'not be included between the Wheatstone bridge' and the deiiecting means as desired. The potential derived from potentiometer Il is not appliedV to directly oDPOse the unbalance potential oi the Wheatstone bridge. but it is applied to ons or more arms oi' the bridge'in a manner to reduce resistance according to some condition to be measured or indicated. For examplel arm RI .may be ahnt-sensitive resistance which changes and the deection of the beam will-be limited to an amount sufilcient to substantially rebalance the bridge. The meter 3|'a connected across the output circuit will indicate the amount of unbalance caused by the resistance change vARI and will thus serve as an indirect indication of This action tends to reduce the potential appliedto plates 36 and 31,

` herein shown and described. f

The arrangement shown in Fig. 3 may also be l used as a relay for controlling a device connected to the load circult'in response to a vcontrolling force applied to balancing lever 4I.

Obviously,` the present invention is not restricted to the particular embodiments thereof What is claimed is:

1. `An. electronic translating device comprising,

in combination', means for producing an electronic beamwinput control means including means for deiiecting said beam in laccordance with signal variations, an output circuit includ.

ing means controlled by said beam'for establishing increasing amounts of energy iiow in said f output, circuitwith increasing deflection of said the temperature or other condition causing the changelin resistance.

In Fig. 3, I have illustrated a form of my invention in which the deiieeting` means comprises a magnetic field arrangement. is adapted for the measurement of a weighing` device.

The movable field for deiiecting the electron beam may be produced by an electromagnet,

but in the example shown in Fig. 3, the field is produced by a permanent magnet 40 of the ring or horseshoe type mounted with its arms embracing the tube 2li so that the magnetic eld between the poles of the magnet is positioned transversely of the electron beam 25. The magnet 40 is mounted at one end of a balancing lever 4| pivoted on a fulcrum 42 whereby the magnet 40 may be vertically moved with ,which is mechanically moved with respect to the electron beam. The

mechanical forces, and is suitable for use as respect to the tube 20 by applying forcesA to the balancing lever.- A weighing .table 43'is carried by the lever 4I on the end opposite from the magnet 40, and a. controlling force, a force to be measured, or an object 44 to be'weighed, is applied to the table 4.3. An electromagnet having a. winding 45 is energized from the output circuit and the movable armature or core 4B of the electromagnet is connected to the lever 4| and acts to oppose the movement of the lever 4l caused by the applied force or weight acting on the table 43.

In the operation of the arrangement shown in Fig. 3, a force or weight to be measured is applied tothe table 43 and this causes lmagnet 40 y to move upwardly with lrespect to the tube 20 and thus cause the beam 25 to shift and establish a potential difference between plates 26 and 21. This potential difference is amplified by amplier 38 and energizes magnet-winding 45 to oppose the upward movement o f magnet and thereby maintain the lever 4i in balance. Due to the opposing action of magnet -48-onlever 4I, the lever will move a slight'distance from its normal position under the action of the applied force, it being 'understood that only a slight movement of magnet 40 is required to produce a maximum potential difference between electrodes 28 and 21. Theindicating meter Bla connected` across the output circuit will provide an indication proportional to the weight orforce applied against the plate 43.

beam, and means variably energized from said output circuit and controlling said input deecting meanssynchronously with said signal variations to limit the amount of deiiection of said beam. .r i

2. An electronic translating device comprising, in combination, means for producing an electronic beam, an input control means including means fondeilecting said beaml in accordance with signal variations, an output circuit including means controlled by the deflection of said beam for establishing increasing amounts of energy ilow in said output circuit with increasing deflection of said beam, and means for supplying energy variations from-said output circuit to said input ydeiiecting means synchronously with said signal variations and in a. direction to oppose the action of said defleeting means on said beam.

3. An electronic translating device comprising,

in combination, means for producing an electronic beam, input control means including means for defiecting said beam inl accordance with sign l variations, an output circuit including means. ontrolled by said beam for establishing increasing amounts of output circuit with increasing deflection of said beam, a source of input` signals for energizing saiddeflecting means by a force greatly in excessl of the force required to produce maximum energy output in output circuit, means variably en` ergized from said output circuit and acting directly on said input control means for opposing said defiecting force by a substantially equal force varying synchronously with said signal variations, and means for indicating the magnitude of said opposing force.

4. An electronic translating device comprising,

in combination, means for producing an electronic beam, for defiecting said beam in response signal energy supplied thereto, an output circuit by the deection of an input circuit including means cluding means lcontrolled sa d beam for establishing increasing amounts of energy now in said output circuit with increasing deflection of said beam, and a connection from said output circuit to said input circuit for variably energizing said input circuit synchronously with said signal energy variations and 'in opposition to said input energy.

5. An electronic translating device according to claim 4, including a, Wheatstone bridge,'said input circuit being energized from `the null circuit of said bridge, and said connection supplying current to at least one arm 4of said bridge tending ltomaintain said bridge in balance.

zmeonz.

energy flow in said to variable 

